There was a time, before Dotard Trump, that America’s word meant something. Allies knew they could depend on us. They knew we had there back. No Longer. Trump has, with his stable genius, ended all that.
President Trump’s surprise acquiescence to a Turkish incursion into northern Syria this week has shaken American allies, and not just because it was a betrayal of a loyal partner. What alarmed them even more was his sheer unpredictability.
His inconsistent and rapidly shifting positions in the Middle East have injected a new element of chaos into an already volatile region and have left allies guessing where the United States stands and for how long.
Previous American policymakers were clear about their intentions, said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a former Iraqi national security adviser.
“This guy is all emotional,” he said. “It is unpredictable.”
The uncertainties only compound simmering worries about the durability of the American commitment to the Middle East.
American presidents have been promising for almost 15 years to reduce the country’s presence in the region, unnerving partners like Israel and the Persian Gulf monarchs that rely on American protection. But few American leaders have ever made and disclosed major foreign policy decisions with the speed and seeming improvisation that Mr. Trump does.
No longer merely worried that Washington might withdraw, analysts say many allies are now concerned that this unpredictable commander in chief could bolt for an exit without warning.
His decision to get out of the way of the Turkish incursion was apparently made on the spur of the moment during a phone call with the Turkish president, surprising many of Mr. Trump’s advisers. It opened the door to a fierce Turkish assault on the American-backed militia led by the Syrian Kurds, which was key to the ground battle to retake territory captured by the Islamic State. Attacking the Kurds, in turn, risks an Islamic State comeback.
Thanks DJT. Your services are no longer needed. Perhaps the Ukraine or Turkey might want your extraordinary talents. But really, we doubt it.
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